A discussion of sorts regarding new contest ideas began in the 2x2 Forge Competition thread, but a full on discussion does not belong in there. Please post ideas you have for real competitions FH could set up that do not involve using a single piece or any other sort of novelty/gimmicky idea. Here are a few of mine: -2 Category Contest (Only two categories of pieces may be used from the "structures" tab. Chosen by you. Everything outside the structures tab is fair game) -$5000 Budget Contest (My favorite idea. Build a map using no more than $5000. Simple, but more challenging than you'd expect) -Invasion Contest (I love Invasion, but most of them are mediocre at best due to the difficulty of balancing sides and phases) -Custom Game-Type Map Contest (players must create a competitive map that is meant to be played with a specific game-type which they set up exclusively for the map. This would not only test their forging skills, but game-type making skills as well) Please take the time to vote on the poll so FH mods can get and idea of how many people would be interested in more of these.
I really like all of those ideas and would probably enter each and every single one. You've got my support!
-Asymmetrical maps, because there are way too many Lockout clones out there -Single object, make a competitive map entirely out of any one object. Teleporters, lifts, mancannons, spawns, killzones, and safezones can be used. No objects in the blocks or natural section. -Extremely low-budget, make a map using less than $1000 budget. Teleporters, lifts, mancannons, objects only visible in forge, and weapons do not count towards budget for the contest. It must support 4-player split-screen without any major lag in order to qualify. -Star Wars map, create a remake/inspiration from any Star Wars FPS. It must be a multiplayer map. -Realistic shooter remakes, create a remake/inspiration of a map from any realism-based shooter. Again, it must be multiplayer. This includes but is not limited to ARMA, Counter-Strike, Medal of Honor, Call of Duty, Operation Flashpoint, Brothers in Arms, and Battlefield. -Classic remakes, create a remake/inspiration from any classic game. Yet again, it has to be multiplayer. This cancels out Doom almost completely, but if anyone remembers, Doom did have multiplayer. The maps are just poorly designed by today's standards. Anyways, the game must be at least 10 years old at the moment of this contest to qualify. This includes but is not limited to Marathon, Quake, Goldeneye 007, Unreal, Perfect Dark, and Counter-Strike. -Single-player conversion, make an inspiration of a map that was originally made for campaign and optimize it for multiplayer use. Example games that could be used are Half-Life, BioShock, and Halo.
Moar Piece-Specific Contests should be included. But Yes, I would problaby join for the heck of it. Piece Suggestions: 1x1 tall and thin, platform Y, and ramp stunts. Build Around This- posted below Natural/ Rock Only- Posted below Campaign Inspired- Posted Below (I Already Have a Map >.<, it is unposted though.) 'Build Here' Contest- Posted Below Covenant Themed- Self-Explanatory [Structure Piece Section] Only- Ex. Inclines/ Natural/ Buildings Gametype Support- Posted Below, based on gameplay of a certain gametype
^ no. There are thousands of possibilities in terms of constraints for a forge contest. Location Player Count Gametype support Mini Game Map Based around weapon layout Budget The list goes on. I think that anyone who puts in the effort to set up a contest like this can probably think of stuff on their own. This thread is essentially getting the staff's attention, and I'm pretty sure they already had stuff like this in mind.
I second the following that have already been suggested: star wars-themed 5000 budget asymmetrical (most disparate from lockout/guardian wins) I'd also like to see: a campaign inspired map contest a contest for certain obscure and underused areas of forge world urban/city theme temple/palace/villa theme A balanced asymmetrical covenant vs human themed map (and not invasion)
Idea #1 Make a map using only 'Natural' Structures, just rocks, no other structural objects. Powerups, AA's, Weapons, Gadgets and Scenery are all allowed. Idea #2 Make a map WITHOUT phasing or merging objects. Halo 3-style. All objects must be set to 'Fixed' or 'Normal' Only Kill zones, Objectives and Respawn Zones may be set to 'Phased'
Hmm...to brainstorm I'd add: Build Around This - Contestants are given a map with a few pieces already placed and must work them into the final map design somehow. BTB Contest - self explanatory No Phasing - The map must be built only out of fixed and normal physics objects. All other forge tools and pieces can be used. EDIT: You beat me to it Dirt Jockey! Still like the idea. I really like 4shot's ideas, but think realistic shooters shouldn't be all that qualify. For example, I'm attempting to reimagine 2fort from TF2 for Reach with heavy changes, and think that remakes should extend to other shooters as well. Not that I woul use that map for that contest if it happened, but there are other great shooters that could have good maps for Reach if attention was put on them.
I agree completely with the Star Wars map one, as well as many others - great thread! I would like to see a contest for just natural pieces lol.
Maybe it's just me, but I'd love to see a casual map contest. Every contest that I know of has designed competitive maps, but it'd be nice to see an infection or mini-game contest.
I suggested that one because there are many Star Wars FPS games that are underrated. Star Wars Battlefront, Star Wars Republic Commando, and the entire Star Wars Jedi Knight franchise. I mean, the game had so many innovations and never received the popularity it deserved. It was instead overshadowed by games like Doom, Quake, and Duke Nukem during its early times. In the modern times, it had to keep up with even larger games like Halo and Call of Duty, and it ultimately failed. The last game in the Star Wars Jedi Knight series was released all the way back in 2003. Underrated shooter, and the amazing map designs really need to be shown off somewhere. Star Wars Battlefront is another example of an underrated shooter. This game should be selling as well as Halo, or possibly even better. My only complaints about the series was the lack of Team Deathmatch and the fact that there were AI in some levels that just got in the way or made it harder to beat your enemies with no good reason of being there. They seemed to be there only to make it canon. What's the point in that? Even Star Wars Republic Commando was underrated, but not to the same extent as the other two. The level design of many Star Wars FPS titles was great and, if remade, I think it could give forge many quality maps that would provide users a challenge and a nice finished product to add to their map portfolio when released. Forge desperately needs original maps. I've seen about 200 competitive maps that are original in my entire time searching through the maps since release, and I've seen about 60% of the maps in the competitive section. Pretty pathetic for a game that's been out for 9 months. A contest such as this would create many unique maps in forge, and that's what I want in a forge contest. I don't care who wins and loses, but I care about how it effects forge after the contest ends. I care about the innovations the maps create, and the well-designed maps that are to be played long after a contest ends. That's what I care about. I'm not in it for the contest, I'm in it for the maps. I agree for the most part, but I'd say decrease it a little. A map using 5000 budget isn't always simple, as a low-budget map should be. I disagree completely. So if a map is inspired by Ascension, an undisputedly worse map than Lockout, it will automatically win? Don't get me wrong, I'm getting tired of the Lockout remakes/inspirations too, but it's not a contest if not everyone is getting a fair chance at the win.
Wow...imagine all the good Battlefront maps... To name a few: Kashyyk: Docks Bespin: Platforms Bespin: Cloud City (open up the middle and add Warthogs?) Tatooine: Mos Eisley Ren Var: Harbor (invasion?) Wow...I think that Star Wars one would be a good contest. That should be a really good one with some good maps. My favorite choice right there.
I don't see too many Infection maps, so a contest would be nice to show some great infection maps. I'm not a big fan of casual gametypes, but I'm not completely against them either. But yes, I guarantee it's just you. I don't think there will be room for an Infection contest with how diverse competitive map design is. Maybe a future contest should show off the best Infection maps. There need to be Infection maps that encourage movement though. Most of them just focus on camping spawn and waiting for easy headshots/unfair shotgun blasts vs sword lunges/cheap sword blocks. Anything that manages not to create that type of gameplay registers as an amazing Infection map to me. Again though, I'm not too favorable of casual gametypes.
I seriously don't understand you. Your views of things are so damn narrow sometimes. Saying a map inspired by Ascension won't win and doesn't have a fair chance because you don't like ascension is just SO wrong. While I agree the winner shouldn't be based on how different it is then Lockout, your point is equally wrong. The winner of an asym map contest should be someone who makes a good asym, regardless of what inspirations it has.
And that's just Battlefront. There's Bespin Streets from Star Wars Jedi Knight 2 Jedi Outcast, along with every other map on that game and all other games in the Jedi Knight series. They have always borrowed important map designs from Quake and made them work better with a slow-paced game. The maps in Jedi Knight make the ones in Battlefront look like a joke, IMO. Most of the ones in Battlefront would be too large to remake, though. Mustafar, Naboo, Coruscant, Tantive IV, Polis Massa, and Hoth (CTF version in Battlefront 2, not default full version) from SWBF2 would all be possible though. As well as Rhen Var: Citadel and Yavin 4: Arena from the first game. Mos Eisley is a maybe, maybe not map. You never know if that would work. It seems too large, but someone may just pull it off. Some of the Star Wars Republic Commando maps are just the right size for Halo. Some of them are too small and need to be tweaked or modified to work better. That's why I said remake or (represented by a /) inspiration. This will let you make it smaller if it doesn't fit in Reach's forge, while still keeping a layout that is largely the same.
I should clarify: I would actually like a contest that is explicitly for lockout-guardian inspired because they are extremely fun to make and play on if well executed. That said I would also like a separate contest that somehow promotes more diversity, since most of what you see are floating lockout-ish maps (and ascension is still similar). That's why I suggested an asymmetrical contest for maps where players would have to innovate outside of and away from that typical design rather than just improve upon the same theme. As for how to prompt that kind of diversity in the confines of a contest, I'm not sure.
Way to take things too seriously. I said Ascension because it is generally the most hated asymmetrical map. That doesn't mean Ascension specifically, but any asymmetrical map that is generally regarded as bad shouldn't win a contest simply because it looks a little better. I have never seen anyone try to argue a comparison between Lockout and Ascension, so I figured it was a good map choice to compare to Lockout. Your view is the only one that seems narrow to me. And again, posting before you read my post. I gave a good reasoning as to why an Infection contest, or any casual gametype contest, would be unlikely to be considered. Competitive gametypes are very diverse, and it was very ignorant of you to think I was assuming anything. Plus, this is a *shooter*. It's not meant for some kiddy gametypes. It's meant for competitive gametypes and nothing else, but apparently Bungie thought otherwise, which was a big mistake. You want casual? Go play LittleBigPlanet. Or maybe one of those Kinect games. Better yet, just buy a Wii. Bungie catering to the casual crowd with Reach was a mistake. The mini-game forgers think they have innovated something when really they have just come up with another dumb gametype that gets old after the first time you play it. I hate to seem aggressive in my posts sometimes, but the way you take my quotes is just so different from how I actually meant them. Sometimes getting through to a casual fanboy here is harder than it is on the B.net.